A few weeks ago on Father’s Day, I had a whole menu planned out for my Dad. When the late afternoon rolled around, I was busy chopping herbs for Chimichurri sauce, marinating steaks, whipping up a garlic aioli, making crispy potatoes, and attempting to create a blackberry cobbler-like dessert with beautiful berries from the market. Note that I was doing all of this simultaneously and, well… my dessert didn’t turn out quite like I wanted it to.

 

My mouth started watering as I pulled the cobbler out of the oven and set it on the table to cool. It smelled amazing. After letting it sit for a few minutes, I grabbed my knife to cut into it. I began to wince as I felt the crust fall beneath my knife and the piece I attempted to cut totally fell apart. I sighed in disappointment as I realized that this was not going to be a cobbler at all, but a big pile of blackberry mush. My family was waiting in the living room as I took a spoon to the cobbler and took a taste for myself. When the blackberries and the vanilla wafer “crust” hit my mouth, all I could think about was how good it tasted. I didn’t care that it came in a sloppy form, it was just so tasty. I pulled out the sundae cups from the cabinet, scooped some vanilla ice cream, took the reserved blackberry sauce, and turned what would have been a failed dessert into a blackberry sundae. I apologized to everyone as I delivered the somewhat unattractive dessert cups.

I didn’t hear any complaints. In fact, I didn’t hear much of anything aside from some Mmmmmmms, some spoons clinking the sides of the dessert glasses as they scooped out every little bite, and footsteps returning to the kitchen for seconds. If I were a more experienced food blogger, I probably would have tweaked the recipe until I got it just right and then shared that with all of you. I created this blog purely for fun, but I have to admit that it took me a while to start it because I was so intimidated by the seemingly perfect food blogs out there. I am so far from perfect, and this is not the first time a recipe didn’t go the way I had planned. However, nobody is perfect.

I’m sharing this recipe even though the crust doesn’t hold up at all. I’m sharing it because it was so delicious and it made everyone happy in the moments while they were eating it. I’m sharing it because I grinned like a kid when I opened up the fridge the next day and noticed there was one little bite left that I could take to work. And that, my friends, is what makes a good dessert.

Blackberry Cobbler Sundaes

Serves 6

Ingredients:

25 Nilla Wafer Cookies

1/3 cup walnuts

6 Tablespoons butter (melted) & 5 Tablespoons butter (softened)

1 quart fresh blackberries

1 1/2 Tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 1/2 cup water

2 Tablespoons honey

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup oatmeal

1/4 cup flour

Vanilla ice cream, for serving

Directions:

 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a food processor, combine the Nilla wafers and walnuts until finely chopped. With the motor of the processor running, add the melted 6 Tablespoons of butter.
3. Press the mixture into an 11 by 7 inch baking dish. Set aside.
4. In a medium sauce pan, combine the blackberries, water and cornstarch mixture, and honey. Heat over medium high heat until the blackberries cook down and the mixture reduces, about 10 minutes.
5. Using a fine mesh strainer, strain the blackberries from the cooking liquid. Allow to cool slightly. Reserve the liquid and set aside.
6. Pour the strained blackberries over the crust.
7. To make the oatmeal topping, combine the softened 5 TB butter, oatmeal, brown sugar, and flour in a small bowl. Using your hands, crumble the mixture over the blackberries.
8. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Then, broil for 1-2 minutes.
9. Allow the cobbler to cool slightly and then serve over vanilla ice cream. Use the reserved blackberry sauce to serve over the sundaes.